February 3, 2002
17You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20You should continue on as you were when God called you. 21Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, the Lord has now set you free from the awful power of sin. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23God purchased you at a high price. Don’t be enslaved by the world. 24So, dear brothers and sisters, whatever situation you were in when you became a believer, stay there in your new relationship with God.
25Now, about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his kindness has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain just as you are. 27If you have a wife, do not end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not get married. 28But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, I am trying to spare you the extra problems that come with marriage.
29Now let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short, so husbands should not let marriage be their major concern. 30Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work. 31Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away. 32In everything you do, I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33But a married man can’t do that so well. He has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be more devoted to the Lord in body and in spirit, while the married woman must be concerned about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband.
35I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. 36But if a man thinks he ought to marry his fiancée because he has trouble controlling his passions and time is passing, it is all right; it is not a sin. Let them marry. 37But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. 38So the person who marries does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39A wife is married to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wishes, but this must be a marriage acceptable to the Lord. 40But in my opinion it will be better for her if she doesn’t marry again, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
First Corinthians 7.17-40 -- The New Living Translation
The movie Les Misérables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, opens with a vagabond curled up on a stone bench on a desolate French street corner. His bedraggled appearance makes him seem dangerous and causes the townspeople, from whom he sought food and shelter, to snub him. Finally he slumps over in dejection-until a passerby points to a place where he can find refuge.
He goes to the door and knocks. The homeowner, the town’s bishop, is startled by the late-night visitation but attentively listens to his story.
His name is Jean Valjean, and he reveals that he is a recently released convict and marked by the authorities as dangerous. Even so, the bishop welcomes him into his home and serves him dinner.
Later, in the middle of the night, despite the bishop’s kindness, Valjean double-crosses him.
Valjean remembers the sparkling silver spoon he used to eat his soup at dinner and sneaks to the dining room to steal the bishop’s valuable silverware. The clanking of metal arouses the bishop, who rises to inspect the clattering below. When they meet face to face, Valjean strikes the bishop, leaving him unconscious, and escapes with a heavy knapsack of silver.
The following morning the bishop’s wife laments the loss of her silver, but the bishop seems unperturbed, telling his wife, "So we’ll use wooden spoons. I don’t want to hear anything more about it." Moments later, authorities appear at the bishop’s manor with the stolen silver and Valjean handcuffed.
Looking deeply into the thief’s eyes, the bishop says, "I’m very angry with you, Jean Valjean." Turning toward the authorities, he asks, "Didn’t he tell you he was our guest?"
"Oh, yes," replies the chief authority, "after we searched his knapsack and found all this silver. He claimed that you gave it to him."
Stooping in shame, Valjean expects the bishop to indict him. A new prison sentence awaits him. But the bishop says, "Yes. Of course I gave him the silverware." Then, looking intently at Valjean he asks, "But why didn’t you take the candlesticks? That was very foolish. They’re worth at least 2,000 francs. Why did you leave them? Did you forget to take them?"
The bishop orders his wife to hurry and fetch the candlesticks, while the authorities stand dumbfounded. They ask, "Are you saying he told us the truth?"
The bishop replies, "Of course. Thank you for bringing him back. I’m very relieved."
The authorities immediately release Valjean, who is shocked by the turn of events, and the bishop thrusts the retrieved candlesticks into Valjean’s knapsack.
Once the authorities leave, the bishop drops the heavy bag of silver at Valjean’s feet. After peeling away Valjean’s hood, which was cloaking his guilty face, the bishop sternly looks him in the eyes and orders Valjean, "Don’t forget…don’t ever forget you’ve promised to become a new man."
Valjean, trembling, makes the promise and with utter humility asks, "Why are you doing this?"
The bishop places his hands on Valjean’s shoulders, as an act of blessing, and declares, "Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God." (1)
In many ways the story of Jean Valjean is our story. It is certainly my story. I was raised by Godly parents, who although not poor, did not have an abundance of worldly possessions. My toys were sometimes homemade. Physically I was blessed, able and very willing to hit or kick anything round – bounce it, throw it, possess it till I crossed whatever goal line imaginable. I could outrun most of the boys my age (thanks to the strength developed by always having to compete against my older brother and cousin). Raised on the dusty, unpaved side of town, I spoke with my actions; there was little need to use words.
In the middle of a play-hard childhood, I met Jesus. There, like a newly released convict I found myself in the freedom of kindness. I also found myself unable to outrun something for the first time in my life…a calling. Unfortunately, and naively so, I did not understand the call of God is without repentance.(2)
I chose to ignore His voice. I chose to run. Like Jean Valjean stealing away in the night with a sack of silverware, I had thanked God for His goodness and grace by running away.
Hardly anyone would have noticed the running. He passed his classes in school, did well on the sports field; even got elected Class Secretary-Treasurer. The miserable runaway even got married, got a respectable job, house, two cars and a dog. He even started a family with his high-school sweetheart wife.
Now, none of this sounds so awful, and if would not have been, except for the fact that it was running – running from God, not with God.
Here’s the difference: Like Jean Valjean, Russell assumed that the circumstances – his life conditions (job, money, car, house) could make him happy if they were to come under his control. The mistake in that thinking is that the conditions in which a Christian finds himself are far less important than the Christ within that Christian who finds himself in the conditions.
I made the mistake of looking for the conditions I wanted – house, family, cars, money – and ignoring Christ who gave me life. That’s like having an internal compass that points North, ignoring it, and heading off South, declaring it’s a better North! No matter how you may believe in that kind of direction, you will eventually bump into a South wall. That’s what happened to Jean Valjean, and me.
For Jean, it was the policeman catching him with a sack of silverware. For Russell, it was achieving most of that for which he’d been grasping…and feeling as empty as the Grand Canyon. Jean’s policeman brought him face to face with the bishop. Russell’s emptiness brought him face to face with that same kind of shame. Jean Valjean had stolen from the priest who befriended him. Russell had stolen his life and service from the God who loved him. Both now stood in the bare naked truth of the mirror.
Every human being at some point stands at this crossroad; the fork demands a decision. Jean Valjean asked the right question, Why are you doing this? He got the only answer God ever gives – Because I love you. I paid for you. You’re free!
What does this have to do with Paul’s letter?
Most people want to turn this part of Paul’s letter into all sorts of rules about slavery, singleness, marriage and divorce. Paul was addressing those issues –
but he did so against the backdrop of Jean Valjean looking into the bishop’s face;
he did it in light of Russell looking into the mirror to see how he missed God’s best;
he did it in the light of your sack of silverware too!
Paul wanted us to understand that all of our decisions are not to be responses to what someone taught us are the “rules” of life. But rather we are to see the Life-giver and know that we are bought with a price. Concentrating on the rules is like looking at your feet while dancing. If you look at your feet, you’re not dancing. When you dance you hear the music and move as you’re moved. If you have to do the “rule thing” you’re not living, you’re running away with as much silverware as you can carry when nobody’s looking.
And so, here’s the point of the entire message…
If you’re going to look to change your circumstances every time you don’t like your circumstances, you’re stealing the silverware. You need to dance a little…right where the Lord called you. You need to get your eyes off the circumstances, and fix them on the Lord of the Circumstances. And then, in the worst of circumstances, He will teach you to dance. And when you learn that dance you’ll find the freedom to be more than a conqueror.
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(1) PreachingToday.com, Les Misérables, rated PG-13, released 1998, based on the novel by Victor Hugo; written by Rafael Yglesias, directed by Bille August; submitted by Melissa Parks, Des Plaines, Illinois
(2) Romans 11.29
